Friday, June 21, 2013

The Shoulders are the Last to Go, Rattling Chains and Shopping

And here's my Casual Friday look this week. I thoroughly enjoyed this outfit and got a few compliments on it. Isn't it fun?

The top and skirt were both purchased, on consignment, a couple of weekends ago, here. The top was $14.98.

I adore this top - I have liked the shoulder cut-out look since it first came in in the 90s. Seriously, every single woman has lovely shoulders - this hides the "buh-byes" and is so pretty in how it drapes. Comfy comfy too, but sized wonky: a 12 (I am about a US size 8 on top). Always try things on!

The skirt was $28.00 and it was great to wear. The high waist is a good reminder to keep one's posture upright and stomach sucked in, and it helped counter the slight blousiness of the top.

You can see the exposed seam and zipper detail in the back. The slit is not very high, so I can't take big strides, but it was fine for walking home.

It was cloudy and windy this morning, so I wore my red leather coat.

Sandals and leather - why not! By the end of the day it was blue skies and soft breezes - welcome, summer!

The stuff:

My fun and funky Fluevog Faith Low Reumahs, last seen here in May with green culottes, baby!

I realized halfway through the day that two of my accessories were gifts from Mom: my belt and my necklace.

She bought the belt for me in London about 6 years ago, and the necklace from the Global Village store last year for Christmas. I rattled a lot today while I clomped around in my loud wooden shoes and chains.

L is out for the night, so I decided to treat myself to a quick run through the WIN store after work. I found a couple of gems, including this classic 90s denim chambray dress:

It weighs a freaking ton. But the skirt (nearly a maxi) swooshes, and it has pockets and it fits gorgeously. It was $10.50.

See? In the 90s the sizing changed to closer to today's sizes.

Yay, made in Canada, and fully washable too! Blues by J. Arcaro is a Canadian company, started in Montreal in 1993 (my searching revealed some truly awful Mom-jeans). I bet in the 90s, this was worn with a puffy floral blouse (with a big collar) and Hush Puppies with socks - don't forget the scrunchie in your hair!

I promise I will not wear it like that. Heh.

I also scored in the lingerie, finding this lovely probably early 80s half-slip:

You can sort of see that there's a large section of lace near the hem - that was likely intended to be seen in the slit of a skirt. It is by Patricia, is also made in Canada and was $2.50. It's really lovely soft polyester.

I always look for one particular brand in vintage lingerie: French Maid Lingerie. It is also a Montreal company, founded prior to the 60s. Today, I scored this gorgeous slip for only $5.50.

The fit on these is just incredible - the bust cups have 2 darts each in them (so no pointy boob), and again it is a beautiful soft polyester. It's sized based on the band size of a bra (this one is a 36). I would guess this is from the 70s.

I wasn't sure about these but I threw them in my cart anyway. One I got to the fitting room, I knew I had to have them.

White leather. Loafers. With a Mary-Jane strap. With a sling-back. With shiny silver wedges! Insane!

And they have these perfect little elastic pieces that keep the leather from rubbing your ankle (a major peeve about sling-backs - ow!), and keep the sling-back from sliding off the heel. Genius.

They are called the "Slagra" - could you pick a worse name?

Yes! Only $16.50 for Aerosoles. Such a score!

Look how cute they are on:

They have the patented Aerosole rubber waffle-texture sole - completely comfortable. They have maybe been worn once! I can't even fathom why someone would donate these.

The WIN store had an extra 25% off everything today, so all of my purchases only came to $26 plus change. Why would I ever shop retail?

Well, off to have some wine and watch a movie! Have a lovely weekend, my friends.

Everyone's in a good mood on Friday! YAY!Love the colours in this outfit; the sleeves and leather coat are especially funky!Great scores too, those white shoes would get a caning if I'd found them! XXX

I suspect downward creep has been taking place in US sizing for a while. I was a size 10-12 ~15 years ago and now I am a size 4. Haven't lost weight, so I think the system re-centered. I find older things or British things in my old size still fit correctly.

What a successful shopping expedition! I love the wedges, so stylish and comfy.You look great in this outfit. I never went for this style of blouses but seeing it on you might change my mind.Come and see my kitten Louie! Just got him Thursday night.

Such a cool outfit, those wooden sandals are fabulous. I'm with you all the way - I have NO idea why anyone shops retail when you can find unique and well-made items secondhand for a fraction of the price. I love vintage slips and those shoes are great too. xxx

Comments are so incredibly special, and I love them and hug them and treasure them forever. Please feel free to tell me what you think! I try to respond to every one, so if you want to know what I said, tick that "Notify me" box and it'll ping your email!